Basajaun, the wild man of the woods

The following is a list of gods, goddesses and many other divine and semi-divine figures and creatures from ancient Basque mythology.

Deities

• Aide, a minor goddess of wind and air.
• Amalur, the goddess of the earth.
• Eate, the god of storms, sometimes associated with fire and ice.
• Egoi, a minor wind deity, associated with the south wind.
• Eki, the goddess of the Sun, the daughter of Amalur.
• Ilargi, the goddess of the Moon, also a daughter of Amalur.
• Inguma, the malevolent god of dreams and nightmares.
• Mari, a mother goddess, and wife of the deity Sugaar.
• Orko, the god of thunder.
• Sugaar, the god of storms and thunder, and the husband of Mari. He is normally imagined as a dragon or serpent.

Spirits and other figures

Tartalo, the Basque cyclops

• Aatxe, a cave-dwelling spirit who adopts the form of a young red bull, but being a shapeshifter, sometimes takes the shape of a man.
• Akerbeltz, demonic spirit in the form of a billy goat.
• Basajaun, the wild man of the woods.
• Gaizkiñ, an evil spirit that causes diseases.
• Gaueko, an evil spirit that comes out at night.
• Herensuge, a dragon who plays an important role in a few legends.
• Iratxoak, Basque imps, which can be helpful or mischievous depending on how well one treats them.
• Jean de l'Ours, a man born to a woman and a bear.
• Jentilak, giants sometimes portrayed throwing rocks at churches.
• Lamiak, nymphs with bird feet that dwell in rivers and springs.
• Mairuak, giants who build stone circles.
• Odei, nature spirit of thunder and the personification of storm clouds.
• Olentzero, a jentil, the Basque equivalent of Santa Claus.
• San Martin Txiki, popular Christian trickster figure.
• Sorginak, handmaidens and assistants of the goddess Mari.
• Tartalo, the Basque equivalent of the Greco-Roman Cyclops.^[1]

References